The Sun Sets On A Mediocre Division

The NL West is sputtering into the break with a .500 first place team and the audacity to have the San Francisco Giants sitting only 5 games out of first place. The Giants! The team I told more jokes about in Spring Training than I told about your mother. Rob noticed that something was amiss with this divison pretty early on, but this is just reeeediculous.

Last season 4 out of the 5 NL West teams finished abot .500. What happened? Let's look at some pertinent numbers:

What can we expect for the rest of the season? I still expect Arizona to get back on the ball and pull away. I thought the Dodgers had positioned themselves to make this a two team race, but they've become incapable of hitting the ball. I'm proud of the Giants for staying competitive thus far, and laugh at the Rockies for not being able to. Enjoy Suxtober, you ski buffs.

Oh, and in case you were wondering whether or not the Padres were buyers or sellers at the trade deadline with a record of 32-51, you're a moron. But today's New York Times baseball blog has your answer. They're not.

"It's probably easier to see us as sellers at this point," Alderson told the San Diego Union Tribune. "If we were to be buyers, it would be hard to choose among catcher, shortstop, outfielder, starting pitcher, half the bullpen. There's not a shopping cart big enough."

Oh you mean for the entire division? You're right Sandy, that would be a pretty big shopping cart.

No sarcasm. He has recently said he would play for the league minimum. He hits homeruns and gets on base at rates higher than most hitters, even at his advanced age of 82. Even if he goes to trial and jail in the next month or so (unlikely), you would still get a top-tier hitter for a few hundred thousand.

If he signed with the A's I would immediately beer-bong a 40 of King Cobra and punch the nearest person in the face.